Sweet Child Of Mine
by SherlockIsMyHolmesBoy
Summary: Julia deals with the complicated aftermath of Boston. CHAPTER 6 IS HERE! I'm so sorry for the long break, but I'm BACK now and intent on getting this story done!
1. Chapter 1

Tom opened the door to his apartment and wheeled his suitcase inside. Having been in Boston for a number of weeks, his arms were full of the mail he'd collected from his mailbox in the lobby - this time, he had no Ellis to sort out the junk. He dumped the pile onto the table in the hallway and pulled his heavy case through into his bedroom. He'd be unpacking it himself this time.

The apartment was so much quieter than it had been the last time he'd returned from a trip. He had Julia pick him up from the airport - he didn't think he could handle a cab after a nearly eight hour flight from London. This time however he was on his own. He'd caught a cab back from the airport as Julia had gone home separately from him.

Tom made himself a cup of tea. He retrieved the mail from the hallway table and spread it out over the kitchen counter, trying to pick out the junk from the important stuff. He suddenly had a flashback to when he had arrived home from London. That had been when the idea for Bombshell had first appeared. He remembered Ellis picking up the Marilyn Monroe coffee table book. He remembered suggesting to Julia that she should do a baseball number. He remembered the excitement of writing those first few songs and cutting the demo with Ivy. He sighed. That seemed a long time ago now. And so much had happened since that conversation.

He was desperately proud of Bombshell. Even though it had been a rush right up to the last minute, even though they were rewriting songs all the way through previews, the finished piece was definitely one of their best works.

Even if it had nearly torn apart his friendship with Julia.

Julia. His heart leapt into his throat whenever he thought of her, as she knew what it was she had to do now she was back in New York. She had given Tom strict instructions that she wanted to go home and deal with this with her family. Tom knew she was terrified, but he also knew Julia was a stubborn and strong woman and that she would grit her teeth and get through it.

Tom also knew that he'd be waiting with the tea and the shoulder when she'd done it, and needed to be vulnerable.

He sipped his tea and continued sorting his mail. His ear, however, was continually listening out for the expected beep of his cell phone.

* * *

Julia stood at the front door of her house, her heart beating fast. She swallowed, took a deep breath and reached for the handle. She opened the door and walked in, dragging her case behind her. She closed the door and stood at the foot of the staircase for a moment, taking in the fact she was now home.

"Julia? Honey is that you?" Franks voice came from the kitchen, followed a second later with him appearing from round the corner. "Julia!" he said, reaching out his arms. "I'm so glad you're back, we've missed you!" The happiness in his voice made Julia's insides knot up as she hugged her husband.

"I missed you too. I'm so glad to be home." Frank took her suitcase and wheeled it into the hallway. Julia followed. "Leo will be home in a couple of hours - the house has been empty without you over the past couple of weeks!" Frank turned and put his arms around Julia. "I missed you so much." Julia held him. She felt safe in his arms, but terrified that this might be the last time.

* * *

She finished pulling the last of her laundry out the suitcase and looked at her watch. Leo was due to be home in half an hour. She took a deep breath. It was going to have to be now. She couldn't do it with him in the house and the morning sickness had been too much to not be noticeable if she didn't say anything. She walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, shaking.

"This could be it" she thought to herself. "This could be the last conversation we have. This could be the end." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed onto the counter to stop herself falling over. "Frank…"

"Hey sweetie, I was thinking of starting dinner soon…" Frank turned and looked at Julia. "Are you alright? You look pale, do you need to sit down?"

She took a deep breath. "Honey…I need to talk to you."

"What is it? Is everything ok?" Frank's look of concern made Julia feel even worse.

"I'm…pregnant."

"You're….pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Oh my…well that's amazing sweetie! Oh my…" he stopped when he registered Julia's face. "Julia, why don't you look happy about this?"

She looked at the floor.

"Please don't tell me…please don't tell me that this baby….is his?"

She said nothing, but closed her eyes.

"Julia…this child isn't mine, is it?"

"I'm not sure?" she replied in a small voice

"Excuse me?" Frank said, moving to stand opposite her. "Julia is this child mine or not?"

She turned to face him. "I don't know."

"What do you _think_Julia?"

"I…"

"Julia, what do you THINK?"

"I…I think it's his."

Frank said nothing. He just stared for what seemed like an eternity. Julia wasn't sure what to do. She just stood. Finally, he moved in close and whispered in her ear.

"Julia. Understand me when I say that this child is MINE. Do you understand? It's MY child. If you want this family to stay together, that is MY child." He looked her in the eye. "Do you understand?" She nodded. "Good." He left the room, and Julia heard him walk slowly up the stairs and close the bedroom door.


	2. Chapter 2

The phone buzzed on the nightstand, and Julia rolled over in bed. She opened her eyes. The bed was empty. Julia sat up in bed and looked at the clock. 7.15am.

The phone stopped buzzing. She reached over and picked it up.

ONE MISSED CALL: TOM

She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed, taking the phone with her. She walked down into the kitchen and found a note on the table.

"Gone into work to grade papers. Taken Leo to school. Will be back tonight, we'll talk then."

The previous evening had taken a turn for the awkward, as Leo had arrived home from school and Julia and Frank had been unable to continue their conversation. Not that either of them knew where to take it. Frank felt he had made his ultimatum clear, and Julia was still unsure what her response was. Julia poured herself a mug of coffee and sat at the kitchen table. She opened her phone and dialed Tom's number.

"Julia?"

"Have you got any idea what time it is? Tom it's barely past 7am…"

"I'm sorry did I wake you? It's just…well…there are more reviews out…for Bombshell…and…"

"Tom you're a terrible liar."

"I really am. How'd it go? How's Frank, did you talk?"

"Tom, this is a longer conversation. Let me have coffee and get dressed and I'll meet you for breakfast."

* * *

Tom sat at the small coffee shop table reading through the Arts section of the New York Times. He sighed and shook his head. More shows trashed, a couple given good reviews. It was so hard to open a good show at the moment, the competition was so fierce.

"They still trashing us?"

Tom looked up and saw Julia standing by the table.

"No, they've moved on to other poor shows now."

Julia leant over and kissed him, and sat down at the table. "Can I have a peppermint tea, please?" she called over to the waiter. Tom raised his eyebrows.

"Tom, I'm pregnant and nauseous."

"Fair point." He folded his paper, and leant in towards Julia. "So. What happened. What did you say?"

Julia paused and smiled at the waiter as he brought over her tea. She busied herself playing with the teabag string. "I told him."

"You did?"

"Yes. I just wanted it done, I didn't want to have to sit on it any longer."

"Julia…well done sweetie, I'm proud of you." Tom reached over and squeezed Julia's hand,she looked up and smiled at him.

"It was a relief. To tell him."

"So…what did he say?"

Julia sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. She took a small sip of her tea, and looked up at Tom. "He said the baby was his."

"He said it was his?"

"Yes."

"But…it's not…is it?"

"It might not be. I don't know for sure."

"Julia…"

"Tom, don't give me that look. Yes, in my mind I'm pretty sure the baby is Michael's but that doesn't mean…"

"Julia, he wants to raise this child?"

"Well, he didn't say that. He said that the baby was his if we were going to stay as a family."

Tom sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. "So what does this mean?"

"It means that I can't tell Michael about this if I want to keep my family together." Julia bit her lip, and Tom reached over again to hold her hand.

"Oh sweetie…do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

"I don't know, I just…I can't stand the thought that Michael will have a child and not know about it."

"So you're going to tell him?"

"How can I not? I mean, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't."

"But how can you say it's Frank's child when you've told Michael it's his?"

"I don't know." Julia closed her eyes to try and stop herself from crying. She hated crying in a public place.

"Ok, look, let's not talk about this any more." Tom said. "Finish your tea, we'll take a walk round Central Park and then you can come back to mine and we'll take a look over those re-writes Derek still wants." Tom rolled his eyes. "Can you believe the man is still bossing us around from another state?"

"I absolutely can. And…thanks Tom." The two friends smiled at one another.

* * *

Julia opened the front door to her house, feeling like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Spending the day with Tom has been the tonic she needed. After all the stress of the past few months it had been so nice to spend a working day together the way they used to - writing songs, getting lunch, drinking buckets of tea and just catching up with each other. She realised that in the confusion of her own life, she hadn't asked him about his relationship with Sam or really caught up on his life at all.

Julia was so caught up in her own thoughts that she jumped as she walked into the kitchen and saw Frank sitting at the table.

"Oh! I wasn't expecting you home!" Lay her purse on the table and sat down.

"I only had class this morning, plus I wanted to come home and see you." His face looked softer than it had done the previous night, the anger seemed to have dissipated. "Julia…we do need to talk about this, but I want this situation to work out for us." He reached over and held her hand.

"I do too, honey. I need to work out how I can do that."

"Julia, you know how I think we should deal with this. I don't understand why you wouldn't agree with me. We can sort this out, we can make this work and we can be a family."

Julia didn't reply. Suddenly her phone rang in her purse.

"Oh god, sorry Frank I'll get rid of them…" she reached into her purse and found her phone.

CALLING: MICHAEL

"Who is it?" Frank asked.

"Tom." She replied, and switched off the phone.


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting on her couch next to her husband, Julia's mind couldn't escape from the missed call she'd received earlier. Frank had cooked dinner for her and Leo, and the family had spent the evening watching cheesy tv shows together. But she still couldn't shake the thought of the phone call.

She looked over at her husband. "I'm…just going to return Tom's call. From earlier." He kept his eyes on the tv.

"Sure honey."

Julia quickly walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind her. She grabbed her cell phone from her purse and switched it back on.

2 MISSED CALLS: MICHAEL

So he'd tried to call again. She moved out into the garden, closing the back door behind her. She took a deep breath and pressed the redial button. She heard the phone ring and tried to convince herself he wasn't going to pick up.

"Julia?" the voice on the end of the phone whispered.

"Micheal. You…called."

"Yeah I did. I can't talk for long right now, we're halfway through the second act."

Julia slapped her palm against her forehead. Of course he was! It was the evening, the show was going on! She instantly felt like a fool.

"Oh…god I'm so sorry…I just…"

"It's fine, Julia, I just wanted to speak to you. You left in such a hurry, we barely spoke…I felt like we left things in a weird place."

Julia's head spun. She had so much to tell him but she wasn't about to have this discussion over the phone, especially when he was so distracted.

"Look" Michael said "I need to go…can I call you tomorrow? Maybe lunchtime?"

"Sure…" Julia replied.

"Thanks, bye." He hung up.

Julia sat on one of the garden chairs and put her head in her hands. She felt like an idiot, she'd made a fool of herself in front of Michael and she had no idea why she'd felt the need to call him. And how stupid of her not to remember that he'd be halfway through a show!

"Honey?" Julia turned round and saw Frank standing in the doorway. "Is everything alright?" He moved towards her and crouched next to the chair. "You don't look well."

"I'm just…feeling a bit sick. Nothing to worry about." Julia stood up and walked back into the house. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Julia sat in her normal spot by the side of Tom's piano, sipping from her mug of peppermint tea. They were going through the notes from the shows that had been going on in Boston since they'd left.

"We're going to have to put in a few massive changes when we're done out of town." Tom sighed. "I thought we had it nailed but…seems like there are still a couple of adjustments."

"Do you think we're going to go to Broadway?" Julia asked, partly to Tom and partly to the air.

Tom put down his pencil and thought for a moment. "You know, I think we will. This is a good show, it's had a lot of publicity…"

"Not always good publicity" Julia raised her eyebrows at Tom.

"Yes but you know that any publicity is good publicity. And there have been no rumours that we haven't been able to make into something good, all the drama with Rebecca the ending of the show, we solved all that. This is a good show and, once we've put in the last changes there's no reason it won't get to Broadway."

Julia nodded thoughtfully. "Good. Glad you're so confident!" They both laughed. Then Julia heard her phone buzz in her purse and her heart leapt. Michael. She rifled through her purse until she found the phone.

"I'm sorry Tom, I've got to take this…" she walked quickly out of the room, closing the door behind her and stood at the very end of Tom's kitchen.

"Michael?" she whispered.

"Julia? Julia hi, how…how are you?"

"Good…I'm with Tom, we're going through rewrites…how's the show?"

"Good, the show's good…the audiences seem to be loving it, look Julia I don't want to talk about the show."

"I…I know."

"Look, we didn't really talk before you left Boston, I don't really know where things stand…but I understand that things with Frank are better. I just…I miss you, Julia. I really miss you."

Julia's heart skipped a beat. "Michael…"

"Look, it's ok, I know you have a family to think about…but I just didn't want to leave it, I couldn't."

Julia's head started spinning. "Michael…Michael I'm going to go. I'll have to talk to you another time, I'm sorry…" she hung up the phone and leant against the countertop, trying to stop her heart from beating so fast. After a couple of minutes, she walked back into Tom's studio. He stopped playing and turned around as he heard the door open.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

Julia sighed. "I think I need to go to Boston."


	4. Chapter 4

"Boston? Julia, why do you need to go to Boston?"

"I can't talk to Michael about this over the phone, I need to talk to him in person."

"What? Julia, you're going to tell him? But what about Frank?"

Julia sat back on her chair. "Tom, I cannot live with myself if I don't tell Michael. He has to know that he has a child."

"Julia" Tom leaned towards her from his position on the piano bench "if you tell Michael, there's no way he's going to let you raise this baby with Frank. He's going to want to be part of its life. And then…well, then you lose Frank."

"Tom, believe me, I know that. I'm trying to deal with this one step at a time."

"It just…I mean, you spent so long trying to stay away from Michael. You didn't want to come to Boston, you were going to leave the show Julia…and now you want to see him again?"

"Tom, things are different now. I'm pregnant with his child, this changes everything can't you see that?"

"Julia." Tom held both her hands "I just want you to be happy. I just want you to live a happy life. And I cannot see things working out for you if you go to Boston."

"Tom, I have to. And I need you to support me in this. Please." She looked at him with her eyes shining. "I'm terrified."

"I know sweetie." Tom said as he put his arms around her. "I know." He leant back and looked at her. "And if you're going to Boston, I'm coming with you."

"You are?"

"I have a boyfriend in Boston, if you remember. You're not the only one who can have relationships you know!"

"Ah yes, your chorus boy. You know, you never did thank me for playing cupid for you…"

"Well I'm very thankful." Tom said. "He's not like anyone else I've ever dated. He's so…not gay. I mean, he is, obviously but he doesn't come with all that extra baggage."

"Like you do, you mean?" Julia asked with a smile.

"Ha." he swatted her on the leg. "You're funny. Now, more to the point, what are you going to tell Frank about going back to Boston?"

Julia stood up and stretched. "I'll tell him we're needed back there to finish rewrites. We won't be there for long, I'll say we were called back by Derek." Tom raised his eyebrows.

"Lying to your husband, Julia? That's not a good start."

"Tom, please, the last thing I need right now is for you to judge me." She walked out into the kitchen.

* * *

"Back to Boston?" Frank followed Julia through the house as she grabbed things to pack "But Julia you just got back home, why do you need to go back again?"

"They're still having script problems and Derek wants me and Tom to be there to sort them out. It's just for a couple of days, Frank, I'll be home again by the weekend."

"Julia." Frank stood in front of her. "Please. Listen to me. I don't know what's going on. We've barely discussed this baby, you're disappearing again, what's happening Julia? This is crazy. I thought work had taken a back seat again, especially with this." He put his hand on Julia's stomach. "Please. I just don't understand what's going on."

Julia held his hand in hers. "I'll be gone for a couple of days. When I get back, we'll sort this whole thing out. And we'll tell Leo. And we'll start things fresh again, ok?"

Frank smiled. "Good. You know I'm worried when you're out there…because of Michael being there…but I'm glad this is going to work out for us."

Julia smiled. "You don't have to worry. Besides, Tom will be there too."

* * *

"I'm so excited you're coming up for a few days, although you never did tell me why. The show's fine, and you only just left."

"Well I missed you, of course." Tom smiled as he heard Sam laugh on the other end of the phone.

"Of course you did. But not enough to fly straight back up here, what's going on?"

Tom sighed. "It's kinda complicated. I'll tell you about it when I get there. Just be glad you get to see me again so soon!" The buzzer rang. "Julia's here with the cab, look I'll give you a call when we get there."

"Will you be here for the show tonight?"

"Probably not for the start but we might pop in if we've got time. I'll call you later." He hung up and answered the buzzer. "I'm on my way now." He grabbed his bag, ran out the door and slammed it behind him.

* * *

Tom woke up and felt the light shining thorough the curtains on his face. For a moment he forgot where he was, until he rolled onto his side and saw Sam lying next to him. He smiled to himself. Sam shifted and opened his eyes.

"Morning sweetie." Tom said.

"Morning." Sam yawned. "What time is it?"

"8am"

"Well then I am going back to sleep!" he rolled over "Wake me in an hour, I'll be more interesting then."

Tom laughed. "Well, I am going to find me some coffee." He got out of bed and pulled some clothes on. "I'll see you later, sleepyhead." Sam mumbled in reply, making Tom smile again. As he left the room, he caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing round the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Julia?" He called, and followed her. "Julia?" He rounded the corner to see the elevator doors closing with Julia inside. "Julia, wait, hold the elevator, where are you going?" He could see her hesitate for a second before she did hold the door. "Julia, where are you going it's 8am?"

She waited until the elevator doors slid shut before she replied. "I'm seeing Michael."

"At 8am?"

"I needed to find a time when no-one else would see us. I don't want anybody finding out about this."

"What are you going to tell him?"

Julia looked at the floor. "I don't know yet."

Tom stared at her. "You don't know? Julia, you need to work this out before you see him, you can't go into this without a plan."

Julia sighed as the elevator doors slid open again. Michael was stood by the lobby door, his back to them. As the got out the elevator, Tom pulled Julia to one side before Michael could spot them.

"Sweetie, you need a plan. Are you going to tell him?"

Julia paused. "Yes."

"Do you want to stay with Frank?"

"Yes."

"You realise you might not be able to have both those options?"

Julia took a deep breath. "Yes. Tom, I'm going to tell him it's his baby and I'm going to tell him I want to raise it with Frank. This is my child and I can make that decision."

Tom squeezed her arm. "Good luck, honey."

"Thanks" she replied, and walked off into the lobby. She saw her tap him on the shoulder, and they walked out the hotel together.


	5. Chapter 5

Michael sat and looked at Julia as she drank her tea. They hadn't spoken much as they'd walked to the coffee shop, neither of them particularly knew what to say.

"You left without speaking to me." Michael finally broke the silence. Julia continued drinking her tea and staring at her cup. "You barely said two words to me and then you left. I had no idea where we stood."

"I thought I'd made that pretty clear." Julia said.

"Ok, maybe you did. Why are you back here now then? Why are we meeting at 8am? If you don't want to see me why come back here?"

Julia sighed and closed her eyes. "Things have become a little more complicated…"

"Really? How?"

Julia opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm pregnant" she said in a quiet voice. Micheal's eyes widened.

"You…are?" He put his hand on hie forehead. "And…it's mine?"

"Why else would I come all the way out to Boston to tell you?"

"Oh my god…oh my god! What are we going to do about this?" He was shocked but had an air of excitement in his voice.

"We aren't going to do anything. I'm going to have this baby. With Frank."

Michael's face fell. "What? With Frank? But Julia…this is MY baby…"

"Yes, and it was a mistake. We didn't plan to have a child, we planned to not see each other again. I'm married, I have a family, and I want to keep them."

"But it's not Frank's child."

I know. He knows."

"Wait, he knows? And he knows it's not his?"

"Yes."

"Julia" he said in a low angry voice "Why would you tell me that you're carrying my child if you had no intention of being with me, even letting that baby be my child. Why would you do that?"

"I…I needed you to know. I had to tell you."

"Great. This is just great. I left my wife and child for you!"

Julia glared at him and looked around, indicating he was making a scene. "You did that of your own accord." She hissed. "I didn't ask you to do that, I didn't WANT you to do that, you did that yourself and I can't be held responsible for it."

"Julia, you cannot tell me this. You're carrying my child. I have a right to be a father to it." He stood up. "I have an early rehearsal." And he left.

* * *

"So, Derek's been pushing us pretty hard but you should ignore what the papers are saying, the audiences are loving it." Sam leaned back in the comfortable lobby chair and sipped his coffee. "Seriously, they cannot get enough."

"Well, I've learned not to listen to the critics" Tom replied "but it's nice to get a first hand view as well." He smiled. "And it's so good to see you again. I didn't realise I'd miss you this much after a few days."

Sam nudged Tom's leg with his toe. "You're such a sap." He smiled, and looked out the window. "Hey, isn't that Michael?" Tom turned to look, and they both watched Michael walk briskly down the street, a dark look on his face. Tom instinctively looked to watch for Julia behind him, but couldn't see her.

"He has an early rehearsal" Sam said. "Derek's been calling them these past few days to get some of the newer stuff down. Speaking of which…" he checked his watch "I've been called for a half hour. I'll have to see you later." He stood and kissed Tom. "Drop by the theatre, people will want to see you. And where's Julia? You two are usually joined at the hip but I've not seen her since you got here."

Tom just gave him a weak smile, as he continued to scan the street for Julia.

* * *

"Julia…Julia it's Tom. I saw Michael come past the hotel by himself, are you ok? What happened? Please call me back sweetie." Tom hung up and sighed. He looked out the window at the sunny morning.

He was debating what to do with himself when a figure flew past the window and through the front door. "Julia!" He started across the lobby to chase after her. "Julia! Wait…" He caught up with her just as she was about to press the button for the elevator. "What happened? I saw Michael, is everything ok?"

"No, Tom, everything is not ok. I'm going home."

"Wait, what? Julia we just got here…"

"I know, and you were right it was a stupid mistake so I'm going home."

"Julia…JULIA." He held her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I have spent the last few days jumping backwards and forwards between New York and Boston for you. Please let's just stay in one place for five minutes!" He loosened his grip. "Now. There's a park a few minutes down the street. Let's go for a walk, and you can tell me what happened."

* * *

They walked in silence until they got to the park. Tom could tell that Julia was going over things in her head, and he was quite happy to let her do that for a while. After a while they got to a bench next to a small pond in the middle of the park. Tom motioned for Julia to sit.

"It's beautiful in here." She said. Tom nodded.

"It really is. I came here a couple of times when we were first up here."

"You did?" Julia turned to look at him.

"Yep. Although, you wouldn't have known as you weren't talking to me at the time."

"Ah. yes." Julia replied. She put her hand on his. "I'm lucky to have you, Tom."

He squeezed her hand back. "You are, but now is not a time for a friendship dissection. Not when we're opening a show, and not when we're trying to discuss your baby situation."

"Save it for Tony night, right?"

Tom laughed. "See? You're funny! That's why you write the words and I write the tunes."

"We really are good at that aren't we?" Julia said, turning to watch the birds on the water.

Tom smiled. He turned to her. "So what happened?"

"He wants to have a part in the baby's life." Julia sighed. "You were right. He's not going to leave this be."

"Can you blame him?" Tom asked. Julia shook her head.

"Of course not. And, I'm glad I told him. It would've just eaten me up if I hadn't. I just…I don't know what to do now."

"Well, running back to New York isn't going to solve anything."

"But maybe it will. Maybe I can just go back to Frank and have my family."

"Julia. You came out here to deal with something. You need to make sure it's finished properly before you go home or you'll be playing this game forever."

"Oh god" Julia put her head in her hands. "I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to face him."

Tom took her hands away from her face. "Yes, you do. You can do this. Just take it a step at a time." She nodded.

"Now. Why don't we go see the matinee of a fabulous new musical that's just opened down the street? I hear it's a hit…"

"I've heard good things about it. The writers are amazing apparently. Also there's a hot chorus boy in it I know you'll love…"

Tom laughed and kissed Julia's forehead. "Come on. Let's start by making you look at him on stage before you have to talk to him in person."


	6. Chapter 6

Julia and Tom shared a look with each other as the curtain came down on the matinee of Bombshell. The audience went wild, and as the curtain came up again for the cast to take their bows, Julia reached over and squeezed Tom's arm. As he looked at her he could see her eyes shining - every time they watched one of their shows together it always ended up with tears at curtain call. It was an overwhelming sense of pride and feeling of having done something so well together.

They had positioned themselves at the back of the auditorium, for a couple of reasons. They preferred to have some anonymity when they went to see the shows just for themselves, and they also didn't want the cast to spot them out there. And Julia wanted a chance to watch Michael without him seeing her there.

The house lights came up and people started filing out of the theater.

"Shall we go and say hi, then?" Tom said. Julia sighed.

"I guess we should. Come on." They stood up and filed out the theatre, and walked round to the stage door.

Tom opened the door. "Hello…" he called, until he was nearly knocked over by a small blonde actress. "Ivy!" he said as she hugged him. "Hey, how are you sweetie?"

"I'm good." she smiled. Sam mentioned that you were around, couldn't bear to leave us hey?"

Tom smiled. "Something like that…" he said with a glance at Julia.

"Well, I need to get changed…everyone's upstairs in the dressing rooms, go say hi!" and with a smiled, Ivy disappeared.

"Alright. Let's get this over with." Julia sighed and climbed the steps to the first door. Michael's dressing room. The door was shut and she knocked.

"Come in" said a voice. She pushed the door open. Michael was sitting at his mirror, and she saw him look shocked as he caught her in the reflection.

"Julia? What are you doing here? Look, I can't talk now, I need to.."

"Look, Michael, we have to deal with this and we have to deal with this now." Julia closed the door behind her and moved to sit on the couch. Michael turned in his seat so he was facing her. He still wore his costume, his shirt buttons undone and his face half clear of make up. "Michael, I'm only here for a few days. I'm not going to do this back and forth between here and home while we avoid this issue. I need this sorted." Michael stood.

"Seems like you know exactly what you want."

"Yes. I do."

"Do I factor in this at all, Julia?"

"No. No Michael, you don't. I have a family, I have a husband and a son and I don't want to lose that."

"You lost that the moment you started sleeping with me, Julia. I left my family for you."

"That was your choice!" Julia shouted as she stood up to face him. "I did not make you do that, you did that yourself. I refuse to take responsibility for what you've done."

"Like you're refusing to take responsibility now?"

"I AM taking responsibility." She moved closer to him. "I am making sure my family stays in one place. What we did, was a mistake. A big mistake. And I'm going to have to live with that but if I can do it without destroying my family then I will."

Michael took a step back. "And I get no say in this?"

"No. You don't."

"I could go to the papers, Julia. I could tell everyone that this child the perfect Broadway superstar is carrying is actually mine. It would be a scandal."

"Are you blackmailing me now?" Julia narrowed her eyes at him. "If you did that, it would wreck your career as well as mine, you know that." She shook her head. "I thought you were above that, Michael."

He stepped closer to her, Julia leaned back, feeling slightly nervous by his proximity. "I am not the one trying to play happy families when I'm carrying someone else's baby." He stepped back and opened the door. "I think you should leave."

Julia stormed out the door, past Tom who was talking to some ensemble members and out the stage door. It wasn't until the cold night air hit her that the anger boiling up inside of her suddenly turned to shock, and she leaned back against the wall, breathing hard. The door opened again and Tom appeared.

"Julia? Are you ok? Julia, we should go." He propped her up with one arm, while hailing a cab with another.

* * *

Sitting on the edge of the hotel bed clutching her glass of water, Julia was still shaking. Tom stroked her back, but she could only replay the scene over and over again.

"He was so mad, Tom. I mean, he was furious. I was scared…"

"I shouldn't have let you go in there alone."

She turned to look at him. "Tom, he wouldn't have done anything. He's not like that. He was just so angry, and then I was so angry…"

"Sweetie, it's ok. Please don't get too worked up about it." Tom kept rubbing circles on her back. "You need a good night's rest." Julia nodded.

"I don't want to see him again."

"We're going home tomorrow."

"I know. I don't want to see him again."

Tom didn't reply. He knew Julia had made up her mind and his opinions were not important. His heart sank every time he thought about the situation she'd managed to get herself in to. Tom hated seeing anyone get hurt, and he knew there was no possible way out of this situation without someone getting hurt. He just wanted Julia to be happy.

"I think I need to go to bed" Julia interrupted his thoughts. "Thank you, for everything." She smiled. He kissed her forehead.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll be home."

* * *

The sunlight streamed through Julia's eyelids, but she felt like her brain had been working overtime while she slept. She'd had crazy, vivid dreams and that always meant her brain was trying to sort through things. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her mind. Rolling over in bed she decided that it wasn't quite time to open her eyes yet. Unfortunately, someone else made that decision for her as there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Julia?" Tom's voice said softly. "Are you awake sweetie?"

"Mmmmm" Julia mumbled. The door opened and Tom poked his head into the room. "What time is it?" Julia asked.

"9.30. I let you sleep a while. You needed it."

"Wow" Julia replied, sitting up in bed. "I really did." She smiled at him.

"You seem better" he said, coming into the room and closing the door behind him. "Honey, I need to talk to you." He sat on the edge of Julia's bed.

"Can this wait until I've had coffee?"

"Not really. Julia…Michael's gone."


End file.
